Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | RFA HL 25 009

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 25 009

The Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01, Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an NIH funding opportunity from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) designed to grow and strengthen the pipeline of independent investigators from diverse backgrounds, with a particular emphasis on scientists from groups that are underrepresented in NHLBI-relevant research areas. The program supports a structured, mentored career development period in which an early-career faculty member builds the skills, publication record, and research trajectory needed to transition to research independence. The intent is not just to fund a project, but to fund a developmental path that combines protected time, advanced training, and supervised research under a mentor who has a strong track record of both scientific accomplishment and successful mentoring.

The scientific focus is broad but clearly aligned with NHLBI priorities. Applicants are expected to have research interests rooted in the advanced methods and experimental approaches needed to tackle major problems in cardiovascular, pulmonary, and hematologic diseases, as well as sleep disorders. The scope includes basic, clinical, and translational research, and it explicitly recognizes both general populations and health disparities populations. In practical terms, this means proposed career development plans and research projects should be positioned to address important mechanistic questions, improve diagnosis or treatment, advance prevention strategies, or otherwise move the field forward in ways that matter to heart, lung, blood, and sleep health, including inequities in outcomes and access.

A central feature of this K01 is the mentored structure: the applicant conducts “special study and supervised research” at an eligible institution while being guided by an accomplished mentor (or mentoring team). The mentor is expected to be established in the proposed research area and experienced in developing trainees into independent investigators. The award is aimed at faculty members who are still building independence and need a defined period of intensive mentorship, research skill-building, and career development activities (for example, methodological training, grant-writing support, networking, leadership development, and a plan that logically sets up future independent funding).

This specific NOFO draws a firm line on clinical trial leadership. It is intended for candidates whose proposed research does not involve leading an independent clinical trial, a clinical trial feasibility study, or a separate ancillary clinical trial. At the same time, it does allow applicants to gain clinical trial experience if the trial is led by the mentor or co-mentor, which can be an important way for a developing investigator to learn trial operations, analysis, and team science without being the responsible lead. Applicants who want to lead a clinical trial (or lead an ancillary study to an ongoing clinical trial) are directed to apply instead to the companion announcement referenced in the NOFO (RFA-HL-25-008). In short, this K01 supports mentored development and research, but it is not the right mechanism if the applicant’s primary plan is to be the lead investigator on a clinical trial during the award.

Eligibility is broad at the organizational level, reflecting NIH’s goal of expanding participation across many types of institutions and sectors. Eligible applicants include a wide range of U.S.-based entities such as public and private institutions of higher education, state and local governments, tribal governments and tribal organizations, nonprofits (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), and small businesses, among others. The NOFO also calls out a number of institution types often central to diversity-focused workforce development, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), as well as faith-based or community-based organizations and U.S. territories or possessions. While foreign organizations themselves are not eligible to apply, the NOFO notes that “foreign components,” as defined by NIH policy, are allowed, meaning certain project elements may be carried out abroad when justified and compliant with NIH requirements. However, non-U.S. components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply as organizational applicants.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant program under NIH, categorized within health research and associated with multiple CFDA/assistance listing numbers (93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840), reflecting the breadth of NHLBI-related funding areas. The funding opportunity number is RFA-HL-25-009, and the listed original closing date is May 7, 2027. The notice does not provide an award ceiling or expected number of awards in the provided text, so those details would need to be confirmed in the full NOFO or NIH posting if an applicant needs precise budgeting expectations or competitiveness signals.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an NHLBI investment in people and career trajectories: it supports mentored, methodologically rigorous research and professional development for early-career faculty from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, with the explicit goal of helping them become independent investigators in heart, lung, blood, and sleep research. It is a strong fit for candidates who want protected time and high-quality mentorship to deepen expertise, publish, and position themselves for independent NIH funding, and whose research plans can be completed without serving as the lead on an independent clinical trial during the K01 period.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Mentored Career Development Award to Promote Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-05-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-05-07.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for RFA HL 25 009

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